Regulation of fish and shellfish farm deposits: associated impact assessments

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)

Disclaimer

This document is a point in time assessment of the likely effects of the above-named proposal on the rights and wellbeing of children and young people. This impact assessment should be read in conjunction with other impact assessments prepared for this proposal.

Scottish Government acknowledge the importance of monitoring and evaluating the impact of strategic decisions and legislation on children’s rights and wellbeing. Any information gathered during implementation of the legislation or strategic decision to which the impact assessment relates, will be used to inform future determinations of impact. Any new strategic decision or new legislation (including amending legislation) would be subject to a new CRWIA in line with the legislative requirements.

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment

A glossary of terms can be found at the bottom of this document

1. Brief Summary

Type of proposal

• Scottish Statutory Instruments

Name the proposal, and describe its overall aims and intended purpose.

Title of Proposal: Proposals to identify the Scottish Environment Protection Agency as the responsible authority for the regulation of fish farm environmental discharges between 3-12 nautical miles and amendments to exemptions to requirements for marine licences for fish and shellfish farms

The objective of identifying SEPA as the responsible authority for regulation of fish farm discharges between 3-12 nautical miles is to ensure consistency in aquaculture consenting from 0 – 12 nautical miles. Having SEPA as the responsible authority recognises SEPA’s expertise both in terms of administration of the process and maintaining the same level of robust assessment and regulation for this activity.

Having fish farm environmental discharges between 3-12 nautical miles regulated under EASR, means that regulation of fish farm discharges between 0-12 nautical miles would fall under the same legislation.

The objective of the amendments to The Marine Licensing (Exempted Activities) (Scottish Inshore Region) Order 2011 (“Exempted Activities Order”) is to avoid duplication of regulation in relation to environmental discharges from fish farms and clarify the application of the existing exemption for the deposit of fish and shellfish farm equipment.

Extending the existing exemption for the deposit of substance from fish farms which is liable to cause pollution of the water environment to cover waters out to 12 nautical miles will give consistency in approach relating to requirements for marine licences between 0 and 12 nautical miles and avoid regulatory duplication which would arise if fish farms required both a permit under EASR and a marine licence for the discharge of substances into the water environment.

Amending the existing exemption for deposit of equipment relating to fish and shellfish farms will provide businesses with greater clarity to determine whether the exemption may apply to all the equipment relevant to a development which they wish to proceed with and avoid duplication in regulation whereby the same matters are considered in both marine licensing and planning applications.

Overall it is intended that these proposals will create a consistent regulatory framework for aquaculture development across the 0-12 nautical mile zone and improve the efficiency of the consenting process.

The proposals support the Programme for Government 2025-2026 commitment of:

Streamlining the consenting process for aquaculture, to improve efficiency, and clarify the consenting process for aquaculture development between 3 – 12 nautical miles.

Background

There is now growing interest within the aquaculture sector to develop farms beyond 3 nautical miles from the coast, with developments in technology making farms in this region feasible.

The Scottish Government is committed to clarifying the consenting process for aquaculture between 3-12 nautical miles, with the intention to ensure a consistent approach to the regulation and consenting of aquaculture development and activity across the 0-12 nautical mile zone.

Scottish Ministers recently introduced the Town and Country Planning (Marine Fish Farming) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2025 to ensure consistency in approach to aquaculture planning regulations across the 0-12 nautical mile zone, by identifying relevant local planning authorities as the responsible body for assessing and determining fish and shellfish farm planning applications out to 12 nautical miles.

By extension, the proposals set out in this consultation are being brought forward to ensure fish farm developments between 3-12 nautical miles are appropriately assessed, licenced and regulated in respect to environmental discharges, in a consistent manner with how that activity is regulated between 0-3 nautical miles. These environmental discharges include organic waste, medicinal residues and sea lice.

Under the current framework, responsibility for the regulation of fish farm environmental discharges differs between 0-3 nautical miles and 3-12 nautical miles.

Between 0-3 nautical miles, responsibility lies with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). SEPA currently regulates this area under The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 from November 2025 SEPAs regulatory powers, out to 3 nautical miles will come from the new framework provided in The Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (“EASR”) when amendments by the The Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 come into force.

Between 3–12 nautical miles the regulation of fish farm environmental discharges currently falls under the marine licensing regime, administered by Marine Directorate - Licensing Operations Team (MD-LOT) on behalf of Scottish Ministers, as set out under The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

Recognising SEPAs expertise in regards to assessment, licensing and regulation of fish farm environmental discharges, and stakeholders familiarity with SEPA’s licensing and regulatory processes, it is proposed that SEPA be identified as the responsible authority to regulate this activity between 3-12 nautical miles. This would create a single lead authority for fish farm environmental discharges across the 0-12 nautical mile zone.

In addition, amendments to the fish farm related exemptions to the requirement for a marine licence contained within the Exempted Activities Order are proposed for the purposes of reducing regulatory duplication.

If SEPA is identified as the responsible authority for the regulation of fish farm environmental discharges between 3-12 nautical miles, without any changes to the Exempted Activities Order, the regulation of the deposit of substances from fish farms in 3-12 nautical miles would be duplicated, as both a marine licence and an EASR permit would be required for this activity.

It is therefore proposed that the existing exemption for the deposit of substance from fish farms which is liable to cause pollution of the water environment (which applies from 0-3 nautical miles) be extended to cover waters out to 12 nautical miles.

The Exempted Activities Order also currently provides a marine licence exemption for the deposit of certain specified types of fish and shellfish farm equipment (any trestle, raft, cage, pole, rope or line) where certain conditions apply.

It is the responsibility of those carrying out an exempted activity to satisfy themselves that they meet the conditions of the exemptions. To date there has been minimal use of this exemption within the Exempted Activities Order by fish and shellfish farming businesses. One of the issues raised is the rigidity of the descriptions for the equipment used, which does not specifically capture ancillary equipment used on farms, such as anchors, moorings and barges.

The deposit of fish and shellfish farm equipment may be considered as an activity where there is some duplication of regulation due to overlap between matters considered in relation to applications for marine licences (where the exemption within the Exempted Activities Order is not relied on by a business and they seek a marine licence) and planning permission in respect of equipment being deposited in the sea.

To provide businesses with clarity in determining whether the exemption may apply to a development, it is proposed the wording of the Exempted Activities Order is amended to confirm that the exemption applies to all equipment used directly in the course of the propagation or cultivation of fish and shellfish, where the relevant conditions for the deposit of equipment are met.

Start date of proposal’s development: 3 February 2025

Start date of CRWIA process: 30 June 2025

2. With reference given to the requirements of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, which aspects of the proposal are relevant to/impact upon children’s rights?

These proposals include no aspects or changes that are relevant to children’s rights.

The purpose of identifying SEPA as the responsible authority for the regulation of fish farm discharges between 3-12 nautical miles is to ensure consistency in aquaculture consenting from 0 – 12 nautical miles, recognising SEPA’s expertise both in terms of administration of the process and maintaining the same level of robust assessment and regulation for this activity. This amendment does not seek to reduce or alter regulatory standards. The amendment only seeks to amend the responsible body for regulating waste discharges for fish farms in the 3 – 12 nautical mile zone to bring consistency with regulation in the 0-3 nautical mile zone. As such, it is considered the proposal would not impact on children’s rights.

The amendments proposed to the Exempted Activities Order simply seek to clarify the application of existing exemptions. The amendments do not seek to reduce or alter regulatory standards and only seeks to reduce regulatory duplication and clarify the application of existing exemptions to the need for a marine licence in relation to fish and shellfish farming, therefore there are no aspects or changes that are relevant to children’s rights.

3. Please provide a summary of the evidence gathered which will be used to inform your decision-making and the content of the proposal

Evidence from:

• Review of the current regulation of environmental discharges within 3-12 nautical miles
• Engagement with MD-LOT to seek views on the regulation of aquaculture discharges under a marine licence within 3-12 nautical miles and the amendments to the Exempted Activities Order
• Engagement with SEPA to seek views on regulation of discharges from 3-12 nautical miles
• A public consultation is intended to be launched to seek views from stakeholders and the wider public on Scottish Ministers proposals to clarify the regulation of fish farm environmental discharges between 3-12 nautical miles by identifying SEPA as the responsible authority for this activity, and related amendments to the Exempted Activities Order to streamline the consenting process for aquaculture. The results from the consultation will be used to inform the final outcome of the CRWIA.

4. Further to the evidence described at ‘3’ have you identified any 'gaps' in evidence which may prevent determination of impact? If yes, please provide an explanation of how they will be addressed

Any future iterations or developments of this policy will be assessed to determine whether there are any effects on children’s rights and wellbeing and address any anticipated gaps in evidence when the developments in these policy areas arise.

5. Analysis of Evidence

Following development of the proposal and assessment of potential impacts on the rights and wellbeing of children through the CRWIA, it is considered this proposal will not impact on children’s rights and wellbeing.

6. What changes (if any) have been made to the proposal as a result of this assessment?

Not applicable

Conclusion

7. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all UNCRC requirements, what is the potential overall impact of this proposal on children’s rights?

Applicable answer(s): No impact

8. If you have identified a positive impact on children’s rights, please describe below how the proposal will protect, respect, and fulfil children’s rights in Scotland.

Not applicable

9. If a negative impact has been identified please describe it below. Is there a risk this could potentially amount to an incompatibility?

Not applicable

Mitigation Record

What options have been considered to modify the proposal in order to mitigate a negative impact or potential incompatibility?

Please summarise mitigation actions taken below

Issue or risk identified and relevant UNCRC requirement

Action Taken/ To Be Taken

Date action to be taken or was taken

10. As a result of the evidence gathered and analysed against all wellbeing indicators, will the proposal contribute to the wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland?

Safe: Not Applicable

Healthy: Not Applicable

Achieving: Not Applicable

Nurtured: Not Applicable

Active: Not Applicable

Respected: Not Applicable

Responsible: Not Applicable

Included: Not Applicable

If yes, please provide an explanation below:

11. How will you communicate to children and young people the impact that the proposal will have on their rights?

The CRIWA will be published on the legislation.gov.uk website alongside the SSIs and will also be included in the public consultation document and published separately on Publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) so will be in the public domain for those wishing to read it. The CRWIA has also been written with accessibility in mind and should be understandable to those wishing to read its content and the No impact decision as per the assessment.

Post Assessment Review and sign-off

12. Planning for the review of impact on children’s rights and wellbeing

• How will the impact of the proposal on children’s rights and wellbeing be monitored?

Any future iterations or developments of this policy will be assessed to determine whether there are any effects on children’s rights and wellbeing

• When will you review and update the CRWIA if required?

Any future iterations or developments of this policy will be assessed to determine whether there are any effects on children’s rights and wellbeing which will be subject to a new CRWIA if changes or new elements are brought in.

Sign off

Policy Lead Signature & Date of Sign Off: Joe Triscott – 20 August 2025

Deputy Director Signature & Date of Sign Off: Malcolm Pentland – 28 August 2025

Date CRWIA team first contacted: 7 August 2025

Glossary of terms

Aquaculture - the farming of plants or animals in the water for food or other purposes. Aquaculture includes fish farming, shellfish farming and seaweed farming.

Fish farm environmental discharges - the release of substances from fish farms into surrounding water bodies. These discharges can include a variety of pollutants, such as uneaten feed, fish waste (faeces and dead organisms), chemicals used in aquaculture operations like medicines and cleaning agents and sea lice

Nautical miles – a unit of distance used in the sea. 1 nautical mile = 1.15 miles or 1852 metres

Regulations – rules made by an authority, in this case by the Scottish Government

Scottish Ministers – are members of the Scottish Government. Scottish Ministers are all Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), who have been elected into the Scottish Parliament

Scottish Statutory Instrument – are a type of legislation used by the Scottish Government to change existing regulations